An important safety procedure in the operation of single engine airplanes is pre-flight sampling and inspection of the aviation fuel from the aircraft fuel tanks. Various contaminants may have compromised the integrity of the aviation fuel. One such contaminant is water that may have been contributed by the condensation of moisture on various parts of the fuel tank.
To facilitate rapid sampling of aviation fuel, single engine aircraft typically possess quick-release valves on the underside of their wing fuel tanks. These valves are of two types, a circular valve that may be conveniently depressed by a prong shaped object, and a wing valve that may be depressed by an appropriately indented or grooved object.
One tool which facilitates the rapid sampling of aviation fuel from single engine airplanes is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,011,349 for a Composite Tool and Receptacle by Kratz.
The present invention constitutes an improvement over the Kratz tool in the following respects: The present invention operates in both the "prong" mode and the "groove" mode to catch a falling sample of fuel while simultaneously depressing the quick-release valve of a fuel tank. The Kratz tool operates in this simultaneous fashion only for the "prong" mode.
The Kratz tool also has a sharp pointed object sticking out from the body of the fuel receptacle, thereby making it awkward and dangerous to carry about in one's pocket. The present invention, in the "groove" mode, has no exposed sharp objects, and so may be conveniently and safely carried about in the user's pocket.
Finally, the Kratz tool does not contain a float which would help to quickly identify the position of a gasoline-water interface. If the Kratz tool did have a float, it is contructed in such a way that the float would probably be poured out of the receptacle when the fuel sample was discarded, thereby getting lost. The present invention does have a float for easy identification of the position of the gasoline-water interface. The construction of the present invention also makes it impossible for the float to be accidentally discarded with the fuel sample, by virtue of the fact that said float is physically trapped inside the fuel receptacle.